Best company for ski holiday with tots?

[tiredofwetsheets]

I'm looking to book our first family ski holiday, can anyone recommend a good company. Our kids are 3 and 5 so child care and good kids' ski school are important but DH and I are pretty experienced skiiers so we need somewhere with enough to challenge us too.

Any suggestions? Thanks

From a position of enormous bias (I run it!) have a look at www.skifamille.co.uk. In-chalet child care in all properties and La Plagne and Reberty 2000 (3 Valleys) good options if adults are pretty experienced. There are a few other firms in this market and I'm sure others will dive in with their own suggestions.

Snowbizz. We've travelled with them several times and can't recommend them enough. Great childcare, ski school, service and organisation second to none.

snowbizz.co.uk/

Another vote for Snowbizz. We're booked on our fourth holiday with them in January. Our kids were 5 and 3 the first year we went, and we couldn't have asked for a better trip. The creche and evening kids club is fab and expertly run by the lovely Pink Ladies, the ski school is brilliant and kept a close eye on by Michel (Snowbizz owner who is out on the slopes to make sure every one is happy every day of the season), and the skiing and snow record is really good too (we've had tons of powder every year we've been).

Esprit for me every time! I have been on many ski holidays with and without the kids and cannot fault any with Esprit! The hotels, service and food are great but the standout point for me is the childcare. Our kids first started on Esprit holidays with DS being 5 months, he is now 7 and is an excellent skier and spends most of his time singing the Esprit songs!! All 3 of mine are avid fans of Esprit....they always want to spend more time with the Rangers than they do with us!

WE have had some fab holidays with esprit ski in French resorts (Belle Plagne, Les Arcs), as well as St Anton in Austria. Their childcare runs from breakfast to high tea so you can get a full day on the slopes or do a couple of runs and then finish the day drinking vin chaud in the bar/ snoozing with a book in the afternoon. The best bit from my perspective is that it's like date night every night , the children eat high tea early and then you can either put them to bed and someone baby listens for you or put them in cocoa club while you have grown up dinner. And then you don't worry about them misbehaving or not liking the food as it's geared towards their tastes. And you get proper adult food and conversation (shame I've forgotten how to do that...!). All of mine had their first experience of childcare with Esprit without an issue - staff are enthusiastic and bouncy (only way I can describe it) & seem to be an instant hit with the children who make new friends, learn to ski and have so much fun they barely want to be seen with us for the whole week. Lessons are exclusive to esprit so no mixed languages and for little ones, a nanny goes with them for cuddles, snot, etc so it's a lovely and gentle intro to the slopes for them. And the childcare team do pick up, drop off, lunch and activities for the rest of the time so they're fully occupied (& exhausted ). It's the only holiday I have every found where all of us come back (that is, me included) feeling like we've had a proper break. Not cheap, but well worth it IMO.

We've had 2 family ski holidays. First one with VIP ski and second with Esprit. VIP was more luxurious for us parents but last season we went with Esprit SKI and my son had a much more sociable, fun time skiing with other kids and the snow rangers. Do look at Esprit Ski. However, I think the resort you pick makes a massive difference too! If your children are going to be skiing pick one with fantastic nursery slopes and green runs and you will have a ball! Good luck choosing your ski holiday. First year we went to Les Gets second year we went to Peisey. Les Gets was the better resort for my husband and son.

I go with Esprit every year. They have a Heathrow charter to Geneva which is handy for us. Also flew to Chambery from Gatwick one year when the kids were small and made use of their nursery in the airport on the return - a Godsend if there is a flight delay.

Esprit Lessons (Sprites) tend to be in the morning with the childcare clubs in the afternoon. Childcare is second to none - the staff are brilliant and reliable and have endless songs and games to keep the kids happy. We also have a great time at adult-only dinner while the babes are in the Evening Clubs. Always feels like we ALL have had a holiday when we get back.

In terms of resorts for a challenge, take your pick: Val D'Isere, Tignes, Les Arcs (love the blacks), La Rosiere (amazing off-piste and heli-skiing on the Italian side), 3 valleys, Alpe D'Huez. Last year, they started in Italy's Monte Rosa area (Gressoney) which we have booked for this winter, purely coz of the off piste and heli-skiing - can't wait!

Good luck!

Snowbizz would be my recomendation,exellent ski school for the kids and adults,great kids club and the fact that people return year after year tells you something. With young children life with snowbizz is easy a great ski holiday.

I can recommend The Family Ski Company for their chalets, childcare and decent quality food etc. They have several chalets near large resorts, we tried the hamlet of Ardent. Young kids drop off after breaking at the age appropriate crèche and older ones go for lessons. They collect them and do the lunch (including clearing away every trace afterwards!) then in the afternoons the kids are taken out on the snow or stay cosy indoors.
We picked the chalet with the crèche in the basement, perfect as we could sneak back for a snooze and relax without little ones even knowing we had returned!
Major downside for us is they use ESF for kids lessons but you can organise your own if you think this is an issue.
We have done VIP which was fine with infants , don't fancy Esprit due to the standard of accommodation / food and the mass group idea.
Trying Le Ski this year due to the ski lessons issue. Fingers crossed!